Koozies, they're great marketing tools. Business owners and marketing directors can brand drinkers by handing out cheap, tiny, portable billboards to cover their cold beverages. But are koozies more than a grand marketing scheme? Let's discuss.
So, What Is a Koozie?
A koozie (also sometimes called a coozie or a can cooler) is a fabric or foam sleeve. The primary use of a koozie is to insulate a beverage can or beer bottle thermally. However, there are many other uses of koozies. These include the ability to identify one person's drink from another person's quickly and, as we alluded to previously, marketing. By putting their name on a beer koozie, different companies have successfully used these beverage insulators as a promotional giveaway. Why? Because they're incredibly inexpensive to manufacture, and they have the ability to bring the company's name to a household presence—they're basically the perfect promotional products.
Over time, koozies have evolved dramatically in both material and style. Today, you can find koozies in just about every material, from leather to neoprene to vinyl to polyester and everywhere in between. They can even be collapsible. Now, we have koozies made for different bottle types and adjustable koozies that can fit a variety of additional containers, rather than just can koozies.
A Koozie By Any Other Name...
Surprisingly, koozies have a ton of different names. While we're sure this isn't all of the names, here are a few we found: Stubby holders, Beer can cozies or cosies, Coosies, Huggies, Beer huggers, Coolies, Beer sleeves, Beer jackets, Coldy-holdies, Bawdles, Coasties, Bottle jackets, Qoozies, and even just a drink holder.
The History Of The Koozie Is Shrouded in ~Mystery~
Believe it or not, but the koozie origin story is often debated and is obscured by folklore and myth. However, the koozie invention is relatively new and, therefore, is easily searchable on our good friend Google.
But we'll save you the Google and the ads that will correspond with your search by sharing what we know about koozie's history. According to some, the koozie was introduced in Australia as early as the 1970s. Because a koozie keeps cans cold, it quickly became a part of surfer culture. Whether or not this is true, we can't say; however, it is said that this is why surfers began referring to koozies as 'stubby holders.'
Another tale that claimes koozie's origins dates back to the British tradition of knitted tea kettle cozies. Unlink our modern use of koozies to keep cold out; the Britsh made cookies to keep their tea's warmth inside. Some argue that this is the apparent explanation for creating koozies because 'cozy' and 'koozie' sounding similar.
While these two stories are myths and legends, we know a few things for sure when it comes to the koozie. We know for a fact that the RCC (the Radio Cap Corporation) registered a trademark for the name koozie in 1980. A year later, Bonnie McGough filed a patent for an 'insulated drink cozy' with an insulating material sandwiched by outer fabric.
Thankfully, McGough's koozie vision has developed, and the current koozie isn't how she described it. Instead, the RCC created the rigid cylindrical foam holders that became associated with koozies in the 80s. By the 90s, koozie developed even further, and softer foam and neoprene replaced the rigid koozie.
Even with the advancement and development of koozies, people were dissatisfied. Apparently, cans also decided to change in shapes and sizes, and therefore, koozies were not guaranteed to fit. To remedy this clearly huge problem, someone came along and invented a koozie that essentially operated as a slap bracelet to hug a can or drink regardless of its size.
Things for the koozie got particularly interesting in 2001 when the RCC let their trademark on the name lapse. As you can imagine, a legal battle ensued as a web-based koozie maker over using the name koozie in their company name. And, matters get more complicated because Bic, the lighter and pen company, happens to own the all-caps version of the name.
In recent years, koozies have also caught the attention of scientists who want to discover if koozies actually work. A team from the University of Washington put together a study to look into the matter. The study ended up attracting grant funding from the National Center of Atmospheric Research and the National Science Foundation. And the resulting article, which was shared in Physics Today, resolved that koozies help prevent canned drinks from warming up by stopping condensation from forming on the can.
All of this background history to say, koozies are likely way more important to others than you might have previously thought!
Grab Your Koozie and a Can of Bev
If you suddenly think you should purchase a koozie, we won't stop you! Why? Because they go great with our girls! A little about us: we're the first canned wine that was created explicitly for cans. Currently, we have five varieties, and all of them are fizzy and around 11.9% ABV per can. Plus, they only contain three carbs and 120 calories per can! Oh, and we almost forgot to mention one of the most important and best-selling points: we're sugar-free! So, what are you waiting for? Head to our store and purchase your pack of Bev and grab a koozie too!
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